Roadway guardrail system

Abstract

A roadway guardrail system including a rail, a plurality of support posts, and a plurality of fasteners assembly to redirect an impacting vehicle and dissipate a portion of the impacting vehicle's energy. A plurality of support posts each includes a slot extending along its length aligning with apertures in the rail and engaging with the rail through the apertures with fasteners including reinforcing members slidable along the slots in the posts. Alternatively, the rail has a plurality of laterally extending slots aligning with apertures in support posts and engaging with the support posts through the apertures with fasteners including reinforcing members slidable along the slots.

1. A roadway guardrail system comprising:
 a roadway guardrail having one or more mounting apertures; 
 one or more roadway guardrail posts with a u-shaped cross-section each having a first end, a second end, two flanges with front surfaces and defining a channel therebetween, and a slot extending along a portion of the length of the roadway guardrail posts within the channel near the first end of the roadway guardrail posts and wherein the second end is configured for being operatively coupled to the ground; 
 one or more reinforcing members having a first surface and a second surface and an aperture therethrough; 
 one or more fasteners, each extending through a respective one of the mounting apertures, an aperture of the reinforcing members, and the slots; 
 wherein the roadway guardrail is operatively coupled to the one or more roadway guardrail posts by the one or more fasteners, and wherein each of the one or more reinforcing members is located between the roadway guardrail and a respective one of the one or more roadway guardrail posts; such that the first surface of the reinforcing members engages the front surfaces of the two flanges of the roadway guardrail post and the second surface of the reinforcing member engages a surface of the roadway guardrail; 
 wherein a portion of each slot aligns with one of the one or more mounting apertures at a desired height of the roadway guardrail; 
 wherein upon a vehicle impact with the roadway guardrail the one or more fasteners, the one or more reinforcing members, and the roadway guardrail slide upwards with respect to the one or more guardrail posts, such that the one or more reinforcing members slide upwards with respect to the front surfaces of the two flanges of the one or more roadway guardrail posts along at least one of the one or more slots; and 
 wherein the upward movement of the one or more fasteners, the one or more reinforcing members, and the roadway guardrail is inhibited when at least one of the one or more fasteners contacts an end of the at least one of the one or more slots, such that energy of the collision is dissipated as the one or more reinforcing members slide with respect to the front surfaces of the flanges of the one or more roadway guardrail posts and the at least one of the one or more fasteners contacts the end of the at least one of the one or more slots. 
 
     
     
       2. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a second reinforcing member adapted to be operatively coupled to the roadway guardrail; and 
 wherein the second reinforcing member can be is operatively coupled on a front surface of the roadway guardrail and a respective one of the fasteners extends through the second reinforcing member. 
 
     
     
       3. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 1  wherein each fastener comprises a nut threadably engaging a bolt. 
     
     
       4. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 3  wherein the one or more reinforcing members are washers. 
     
     
       5. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the roadway guardrail mounting apertures is a guardrail slot extending along a length of the roadway guardrail and traverses at least one of the slots in the one or more roadway guardrail posts. 
     
     
       6. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more slots are at least about 2 inches in length and permit the one or more fasteners at least about 2 inches of translational movement along the slot in the upward direction. 
     
     
       7. A roadway guardrail system comprising:
 a roadway guardrail having a plurality of mounting apertures; 
 a plurality of roadway guardrail posts each having a first end, a second end, a front surface defining a channel therein, and a slot extending along a portion of the length of each roadway guardrail post within the channel near the first end of the roadway guardrail posts and wherein the second end is configured for being operatively coupled to the ground, such that a portion of the slot aligns with one of the plurality of mounting apertures at a desired height of the roadway guardrail; 
 a plurality of reinforcing members each having a first surface and a second surface and an aperture therethrough; 
 a plurality of fasteners each fastening the roadway guardrail to a reinforcing member of the plurality of reinforcing members and to a roadway guardrail post of the plurality of roadway guardrail posts and extending through a mounting aperture of the plurality of mounting apertures of the roadway guardrail, the aperture of a respective one of the reinforcing members, and the slot in a respective one of the roadway guardrail posts; 
 wherein the first surface of the reinforcing member engages the front surface of the roadway guardrail post, and the second surface of the reinforcing member engages a surface of the roadway guardrail; 
 wherein upon a vehicle impact with the roadway guardrail the fastener, the reinforcing member, and the roadway guardrail slide upwardly along the slot in the roadway guardrail post; and 
 wherein the engagement between the first surface of the reinforcing member and the front surface of the roadway guardrail post inhibit the movement of the fastener, the reinforcing member, and the roadway guardrail to dissipate energy of the collision, and the upward movement of the fastener, the reinforcing member, and the roadway guardrail is further inhibited to dissipate the energy of the collision when the fastener contacts an end of the slot. 
 
     
     
       8. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 7  further comprising:
 a second reinforcing member adapted to be operatively coupled to the roadway guardrail; and 
 wherein the second reinforcing member can be is operatively coupled on a front surface of the roadway guardrail and a respective one of the fasteners extends through the second reinforcing member. 
 
     
     
       9. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 7  wherein each fastener comprises a nut threadably engaging a bolt to fasten the roadway guardrail to one of the roadway guardrail posts. 
     
     
       10. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 9  wherein each of the reinforcing members is a washer. 
     
     
       11. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 7  wherein at least one of the roadway guardrail mounting apertures is a guardrail slot extending along a length of the roadway guardrail and traverses at least one of the slots in the one or more roadway guardrail posts. 
     
     
       12. The roadway guardrail system of  claim 7  wherein each of the slots is at least about 2 inches in length and permits the fasteners at least about 2 inches of translational movement along the slot in the upward direction. 
     
     
       13. A roadway guardrail system comprising:
 a roadway guardrail having one or more mounting apertures; 
 one or more roadway guardrail posts each having a first end, a second end, a front surface defining a channel therein, and a slot longitudinally extending along at least about 2 inches of the length of the roadway guardrail posts within the channel near the first end of the roadway guardrail posts and wherein the second end is configured for being operatively coupled to the ground; 
 one or more reinforcing members having a first surface and a second surface and an aperture therethrough; 
 one or more fasteners, each extending through a respective one of the mounting apertures, an aperture of the reinforcing members, and the slots; 
 wherein the roadway guardrail is operatively coupled to the one or more roadway guardrail posts by the one or more fasteners, and wherein each of the one or more reinforcing members is located between the roadway guardrail and a respective one of the one or more roadway guardrail posts; such that the first surface of the reinforcing members engages the front surface of the roadway guardrail posts and the second surface of the reinforcing members engages a surface of the roadway guardrail; 
 wherein a portion of each slot aligns with one of the roadway guardrail mounting apertures; 
 wherein upon a vehicle impact with the roadway guardrail the one or more fasteners, the one or more reinforcing members, and the roadway guardrail slide upwards at least about 2 inches with respect to the one or more guardrail posts, such that the one or more reinforcing members slide upwardly along the front surface of the one or more guardrail posts, such that the engagement of the first surface of the one or more reinforcing members with the front surface of the one or more roadway guardrail posts dissipates energy from the collision; and 
 wherein the upward movement of the one or more fasteners, the one or more reinforcing members, and the roadway guardrail is inhibited when the fastener contacts an end of the slot, which further dissipates the energy of the collision.